Implementation of kuruvai package begins in delta districts

For the first time, package creates job opportunities for agricultural labourers

July 06, 2018 08:20 am | Updated 08:20 am IST

The Agriculture Department has begun implementation of kuruvai package in the core delta districts of Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur.

The State government has allotted ₹61 crore for Tiruvarur district, ₹20.99 crore for Thanjavur district and ₹16.07 crore for Nagapattinam district for disbursal as subsidy to farmers.

Three-phase power supply for 12 hours a day, subsidy for installing drip and sprinkler irrigation system for small and marginal farmers, subsidised high-yielding paddy seeds, power tillers and rotavators, 90% subsidy for solar-powered pumpsets for farmers and diesel engines are among the other components of the package.

Besides, subsidy for micro nutrient mixture, green manure and PVC pipes are also being extended.

For the first time, the kuruvai package also provides for creating employment for agricultural labourers, who will be deployed for works such as desilting of canals, creation of farm ponds and other agricultural operations, Tiruvarur Collector L. Nirmal Raj said.

His district has been allocated the lion’s share under the package.

About 4,600 quintal of high-yield seeds will be distributed to farmers at 50% subsidy. The subsidies under various components will be extended to farmers to raise kuruvai paddy in about 67,500 acres with groundwater in the district, he added.

According to Thanjavur Collector A.Annadurai, a major chunk of the allocation — about ₹14 crore — will be disbursed for promoting mechanised transplantation in about 35,000 acres in the district. Farmers will be given ₹4,000 an acre as full subsidy under the component.

Seeds of high-yielding paddy varieties will be distributed with a subsidy of ₹17.50 a kg through agricultural extension centres, and the district has been allotted ₹98 lakh for the purpose. About ₹1.40 crore has been set aside for providing rotavators and power tillers at 50% subsidy to selected farmers. Around 600 diesel engines will be supplied at subsidised rates to farmers, awaiting farm power connections, at a cost of ₹90 lakh. The rest of the allocation have been earmarked for supply of micro nutrient mixtures, liquid bio fertilizers, supply of short duration pulse seeds and micro irrigation systems for growing pulses at subsidised rates, he said.

In Nagapattinam district, the subsidy will be extended for mechanised transplantation in an area of about 28,000 acres with an allocation of ₹11.20 crore, Collector S.Suresh Kumar said. About 120 power tillers will be given to selected farmers at subsidised rates. Four hundred farmers will be given diesel engines in the district.

In Tiruchi district, Collector K. Rajamani on Thursday inaugurated mechanised transplantation of mat nurseries raised under the kuruvai package scheme in a farmer’s field at K.V.Pettai near Lalgudi.

He said the district had been allotted ₹1.73 crore for implementing the package.

Farmers interested in availing the subsidies under various components can approach the Agriculture Department officials in their respective areas, the Collectors have said.

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